Toyota running all North American plants on overtime to meet demand
For over a decade, Toyota had been frantically building up its North American infrastructure to build more and more cars and trucks. The plan was going smoothly until the new car market collapsed, leaving barren plants in its wake. But it appears as though Toyota is getting back on its feet. Automotive News now reports that the Japanese automaker is now running all of its North American plants on overtime to meet demand and replenish depleted vehicle reserves.
Among the Toyota plants cranking at full steam is the company’s Woodstock, Ontario plant that produces the Toyota RAV4. Compact crossovers are hot in the market right now and the Japanese automaker is reportedly looking to add a second shift to crank out more copies of its popular (not so) little CUV. Adding a second shift to the facility will result in 800 new hires at the plant; news that is sure to be well received in the region. The plan is to get the workers trained and have both shifts running at an annualized rate of 150,000 vehicles by April 1. Toyota has even increased Corolla production by adding Saturday shifts at its soon-to-close New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. facility in Fremont, California. In spite of the increased demand for its efficient compact, Toyota reportedly doesn’t plan to reverse its plan to close the factory by the end of March, and the move could be a case of Toyota stockpiling production as it adjusts to life without NUMMI.
Categories: Crossovers/CUVs, Sedans/Saloons, Toyota Tags:
LA 2010: Toyota RAV4 EV, powered by Tesla, hits the stage
Proudly “Powered by Tesla,” the brand-new Toyota RAV4 EV made its debut at the LA Auto Show today, and it’s pretty much what you’d expect: a current-generation RAV4 with the heart of a Tesla Roadster. Or maybe a Model S. In any case, one of Silicon Valley’s electric cars. As we’ve known, Tesla’s role in the partnership is to develop the powertrain – including the battery, power electronics module, electric motor, gearbox and software – for Toyota’s popular CUV.
The RAV4 EV has a long history, as long-time plug-in vehicle fans are well aware. The first-gen version arrived in 1997 and was available for six years. Toyota said today that it sold or leased 1,484 units during that time – and that nearly 750 of them are still in operation – but could never make them a mainstream hit like the Prius. Making these alternative-power vehicles isn’t that difficult, said Jim Lentz, Toyota Motor Sales’ president and chief operating officer, the hard part is bringing them to mainstream customers.
This is the goal of the RAV4 EV, which is scheduled to hit the market in 2012. The initial batch of test vehicles, the so-called Phase Zero machines, are already achieving 100 miles of range, but Toyota engineers are working hard to make sure that the Phase One vehicles (i.e., the next batch) will be able to reach that number no matter what the climate or outside condition is – or, in the words of the press release, “in a wide range of climates and conditions.” The engineering team is also focused on drivability and making the electric CUV feel, “as close to a conventional RAV4 as possible.” We’ll have a more complete post about the RAV4 EV later, but for now you can find plenty more information on Toyota’s dedicated RAV4 EV website.
Categories: Auto Show, LA Auto Show, SUV, Toyota Tags: LA Auto Show, Toyota
2010 Toyota 4Runner faithfully sticks to the formula it helped create
Toyota has made some serious money over the past couple of decades by making safe, reliable vehicles. There have been a few models, like the Supra and Celica, that have appealed to the enthusiast, but the rest of America hasn’t really seemed to care. New Toyota chief Akio Toyoda has promised to change that paradigm, however, pledging to inject new vehicles with much-needed soul. But do we have to wait a few years for Toyota’s designers and engineers to come up with something new and exciting? Maybe not.
While the enthusiast-inspired products like the FT-86 coupe are still a ways off, off-roading types have a new Toyota to test drive: the 2010 4Runner. We’ve long known that the 4Runner has been perfectly capable of wrestling with a bit of mud, as it helped define America’s sport-utility genre along with the original Jeep Cherokee way back in 1984. But this new model is at once bigger, more capable and more luxurious – and its styling has been designed to stand out in an admittedly thinning crowd of proper SUVs. We spent a week with a Magnetic Grey Metallic 4WD SR5 to see if Toyota has been right to stand by its mid-size mainstay while the rest of the automaking world has been busy turning its body-on-frame gas-guzzlers into pump-friendly softroaders.
It’s Not Even Out Yet: Toyota reportedly upping price on FT-86
Toyota touts its hotly anticipated FT-86 coupe as a quick, light and attractive sports car for the masses. One of its strongest selling points is a price tag that reportedly hovering somewhere around $20,000 in base form, making the rear-drive coupe an affordable option for cash-strapped enthusiasts.
However, a report from Autocar claims that higher than expected development costs could derail any dreams of a good looking, inexpensive FT-86. The British site sites unnamed Toyota sources as saying that the base price of the little coupe has shot from £13,000 ($20,000 in U.S. funds) to £15,000 ($23,000 U.S.), with a range-topper coming in at £17,000 ($26,000 U.S.). Further, Autocar reports that Toyota sports vehicle department head Tetsuya Tada says that the company has increased the targeted FT-86 age group has been bumped by a full 10 years from the 30s to the 40s.
